Bolt Position for Storing?

[Coltdriver]

On your bolt rifles, do you fully close the bolt for storage or do you leave your bolt unlatched?

Is there any detrimental effect in storing a bolt rifle with the bolt fully closed??

 

[Badger Arms]

I either dry-fire the gun on an empty chamber or hold the trigger while closing the bolt to release tension on the striker spring. I then store the guns barrel up in the safe.

Do NOT remove bolts or magazines from the gun. The magazine will protect the chamber from dirt and debris as well as keep it from getting lost. Same for the bolt. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER store bolts, slides, barrels, etc. separate from the main firearm. Keep everything unloaded and as free of spring tension as possible but in place on the gun.

 

[3 gun]

Bolt closed and decocked. I've never heard of any problems caused by storage with the bolt closed.

 

[Art Eatman]

Thread Drift: Badger Arms, if one has no gunsafe, it's not unwise to hide the bolts separately from the rifle. A crook might not steal a rifle with no bolt; or if he does, it's not marketable or usable...

Art

 

[JohnBT]

Bolt closed, mag in.

I have a safe, and another on the way, but if I ever hid a bolt somewhere I'd never see it again. That's just me.

Well, if I ever sold the rifle the bolt would turn up the next week.

John

 

[Badger Arms]

Art: I'd be more likely to lose the bolt or magazine than a crook would be to break in. I suppose you could make a strong case that storing the bolt separately might make a crook upset when he got your gun to where he was going, but now you have a bolt without a gun... could go to local gunsmiths and give them a heads-up I guess.

 

[Fatelvis]

I vote for bolt closed, and de-cocked.

 

[bbrins]

I don't take my bolts out while storing my rifles anymore, because I lost the bolt to my favorite little Russian .22. I've torn the house apart and cannot find it, I have tried like crazy to find another one but nobody can get it for me. Now I just close the bolt slowly while holding my finger on the trigger to relieve spring pressure or just dry-fire it if it is centerfire (uh, that is after I check to make sure nothing is chambered).

 

[P95Carry]

I suspect the general concensus here is also the majority one . and I'd go along with that ...... firing pin spring off tension and bolt closed, muzzle up.

But ... purely for me, and an old, old habit ..... bolts are open on all my rifles ... it's a kick back to long ago .. because it means the gun can be seen clear ... unless of course a round was stubborn enough to stick in chamber and defy gravity! My only exception and I guess obvious ... my Savage 99C lever is stored closed, as is my Win 94.

One small point . and I always have remembered this .... with shotguns in particular .. it was always recommended that care used with post cleaning lube .. as over time it drains back thru barrel, action etc . and ultimately can over soak the woodwork lower down .. maybe, just maybe, weakening it over time ....... small point but .... just mentioning FWIW! I try not to over lube anyways.

 

[hksw]

Early on I've always kept the bolt in the gun and the striker uncocked. As time progressed and my collection increased, room in the safes became very limited. The handles of the bolts of my boltactions take up quite a bit of unnecessary space, plus they also have the capability of dinging other guns next to them. For a couple or 3 guns, I remove the bolt every time I put them in a safe. The bolts get placed into a marked container which is also placed in the safe on a shelf area. When stored outside of the safes, the bolt stays in the gun. When transported in a hard case (padded), the bolt is removed. When transported in a soft case, the bolt stays in as it tends to rattle around in a pouch if stored seperately.

 

[Robby from Long Island]

I have always taken the bolts out of my rifles for storage. My rifles go in rugged cases, 2 to a case, but the cases will not close if the bolts remain in the guns.

Been doing this for 35 years with no problems. Put the bolts in my dresser drawer so they're always close by and I don't think I'll lose them.

Never had a dust or rust problem with either guns or bolts as both are taken out occasionally for cleaning and a light lube.

Safe shooting.